Lovejoy at The Lake, Adventures in an Aspiring Utopia

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THE LAKE – Thoughts on Season 1 – (minor spoilers)

Jordan Gavaris and Travis Nelson - The Lake

Riley finds Justin tied to a tree with bunjee cords (Episode Six)

When we first meet Justin Lovejoy (Jordan Gavaris), he is dithering over ice cream flavours at the back of the local convenience store. Romance is in the air as an impossibly hot store manager named Riley (Travis Nelson) offers to help and Justin buys many things he does not need (but no ice cream at all) while making impossibly clever conversation. Justin has just returned to cottage country, having departed more than a decade ago after getting his best friend Teesa (Sagine Sémajuste) pregnant on prom night. Justin and Teesa gave up the child in an open adoption, and the then-overweight Justin figured out that he was gay, went to Australia, and got married. A divorced, no-longer-obese Justin has arranged to spend the summer with his daughter Billie (Madison Shamoun) at The Lake, which is where Justin grew up.

Problem is, Justin’s step-sister Maisey-May (Julia Stiles) also lives at The Lake, and has inherited the family cottage. Maisey is the daughter of the second wife of Justin’s father and wants to do a radical renovation of the place, much to Justin’s displeasure because most of Justin’s pleasant memories of childhood come from his relationship with his grandfather (who built the place). Justin discovers that the cottage is held in trust and if Maisey ever leaves, ownership reverts to him. He embarks on a quest to stop that renovation, while at the same time attempting to establish a meaningful relationship with his daughter, whom he has not seen since giving her up. Continue reading →

The Clairvoyant, the Succubus, and the Empath

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PREMONITIONS – the first three episodes – SPOILERS

Mikhail Ahooja - Premonitions

Mikhail Ahooja as Arnoud Jakob, reluctant reader of thoughts

It is 2016, and Clara (Pascale Bussières), the clairvoyant matriarch of the Jakob family is playing poker, which is how she makes her living. Silently, and to no one in particular, she describes the unusual ability she was born with: “I cannot see my own future, nor that of my family members, but I can see anyone else’s when i look them in the eyes.” She further explains that acting on the knowledge obtained in this way has consequences: “This new future I created, and what it replaces, I’m now responsible for,” she continues. “It’s through my actions that it came to exist.” Continue reading →

Shall We Mourn Here Deedless Forever?

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THE BLAZING WORLD – a film by Carlson Young – SPOILERS

Josie Fink and Lillie Fink - The Blazing World

Josie and Lillie Fink as the young Margaret and Elizabeth Winter

Two decades ago, on a summer’s day in the deep south, Young Margaret Winter endures complementary traumas. She and her identical twin sister Elizabeth are near the pool and are busy being fascinated by a jar of captured fireflies. Margaret is distracted by a noise which turns out to be a blackbird flying into the side of the house. The bird is beyond repair, but while there, Margaret peeks through the window and witnesses a violent altercation between her parents. By the time she returns to her spot by the pool, her sister has drowned.

Udo Kier and Carlson Young - The Blazing World

Lained (Udo Kier) stands in the corner while Margaret immerses herself in the bath

The story jumps ahead to the present. Margaret gets a phone call from her mother, and finds out that her parents are selling the house and moving away. Her mother asks Margaret to bring her some more ambien the next time she visits. Margaret checks the medicine cabinet, discovers she’s out of ambien, and finds a razor blade. Then she draws a bath and sits in the water. Continue reading →